The name that is transliterated as “Martha” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying “hostess” (referring to Luke 10:40). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
The Greek that is transliterated as “Lazarus” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign depicting that he is bound in clothes, referring to John 11:44. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding John).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:22:
Uma: “From there, they said again: ‘If thus, tell us (excl.) who you (sing.) really are, so that there is an answer we (excl.) take to those who sent us (excl.). What is your (sing.) answer who you (sing.) really are?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then they said to him, ‘Tell us (excl.) as to who you really are. You have to tell us (excl.) so that we can inform the ones who commanded us (excl.) to come here. What do you say about yourself?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they said again then, ‘Tell us who you are because we need to have an answer for those who sent us. What can you say about this?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘And who are you (sing.) then? Please tell because we (excl.) must have something-to-answer to those who sent us (excl.). What is your (sing.) spoken-opinion about yourself (sing.)?’ they said.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “‘Don’t hide it like that. You must tell us (excl.) what you really are, so that we will have what we can tell those who sent us.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Again they asked, ‘Perhaps you are the prophet who must come?’ He said, ‘No.’ Then he was asked, ‘But who are you? Tell us so that we can take the word back to those who sent us. Tell who you are.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Although there are no difficult exegetical problems in this verse, there are some translational problems, particularly in the command Then tell us who you are. As we have noted, this is not a demand for John the Baptist’s name, but rather an insistence that he explain his role or function. It is almost equivalent to the colloquial expression in English “Then tell us who you think you are.” The focus in such a statement is not upon the name of the individual but upon his role and the justification for his activities.
We have to take an answer back may be rendered in some languages “We must give an answer to” or “We must reply to.”
The final question, What do you say about yourself?, indicates clearly that the questions posed by these representatives of the Jewish authorities were designed to find out how John viewed his ministry, equivalent to “Who do you really claim to be?”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
So: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So can also be translated as “therefore.” Here are some other way to translate this word:
Then they said to him (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
Finally they said (New International Version)
they said to him: The pronoun they refers to the priests and Levites. The pronoun him refers to John the Baptist. In some languages it is more natural to make this explicit. For example:
the priests and helpers in the temple said to John
See the General Comment after 1:22d for a way to translate this as indirect speech.
1:22b
Who are you?: The ones asking questions were not asking for John’s name. They wanted to know his mission or social importance and why he thought he had the right to baptize. They probably felt disappointed that they could not get a satisfactory answer. In some languages it is natural to imply that they were disappointed. For example:
You (sing.) must tell us who you really are.
1:22c
We need an answer for those who sent us: The ones asking questions insisted that John answer them so that they could tell the religious leaders what he said. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
We have to take an answer back to those who sent us. (Good News Translation) -or-
We must give an answer to those who sent us. (Revised English Bible)
those who sent us: The phrase those who sent us refers back to the religious leaders. In some languages it is more natural to identify them here. For example:
We (excl.) need an answer to give to those ⌊religious leaders⌋ who sent us.
1:22d
What do you say about yourself?: This question means about the same as the question in 1:22b. The priests and Levites wanted to know who John said he was. Translate this in a way that implies that they were becoming upset or impatient. For example:
What have you to say about yourself? (New Jerusalem Bible)
General Comment on 1:22b–d
In some languages it may be more natural to combine the questions in 1:22b and d:
22b,d You (sing.) must tell us (excl.) what/who you really are, 22c so that we can tell those who sent us.
General Comment on 1:22a–d
In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:
22a Finally the priests and Levites 22b,d demanded to know who he said he was. 22c They told him that they had to give an answer to ⌊the religious leaders⌋ who had sent them.
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